“Fifteen years ago, when we called and told people they’d won [a Glaad Media Award], they didn’t know who we were, and when they found out, they’d say, ‘Thanks, but no thanks,’” says Julie Anderson, the senior director of development and finance at the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (Glaad). “Now the award is heavily sought-after.”
Now in their 18th year, the Glaad Media Awards (which recognize mainstream media for “fair, accurate, and inclusive representation of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender community and the issues that affect their lives”) have come a long way from when the organization held one event in New York for an audience of 200 people and a single sponsor, Absolut Vodka. The March 26 New York festivities alone welcomed 1,600 guests, high-wattage stars, and a roster of big-name sponsors including IBM, Time Warner, American Airlines, Bud Light, Hilton Hotels, Motorola, and Starbucks Coffee Company. (Glaad now holds ceremonies in Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Miami as well.) The show will also air on Logo for the third year, on April 21.
The event’s ever-rising profile, along with the television broadcast, has resulted in an increasingly sophisticated visual display on stage. “Technically, we have to be TV-ready, with audio, lighting, and more cameras,” says Marc McCarthy, the organization’s senior director of communications. “We’re turning a theatrical production into a television production.”
Brian Brooks, president of MB Productions, the video staging partner of the awards for the past eight years, remembers when a single plasma screen graced the stage. The addition of a 9- by 12-foot rear-projection screen, portrait plasma screens, side screens, and the mixing of live video and animation enables a “much more sophisticated look of the show,” Brooks says.
The use of several screens to display multiple images and media (live shots, pre-taped items, logos, and animations), in addition to well-placed lighting effects, gave the nonprofit’s marquee event—and primary fund-raiser—a ready-for-prime-time look. “You can do a lot with video and lighting,” Brooks says. “It’s actually simple, but it’s warm and inviting.”
—Mimi O’Connor
Posted 04.04.07
Photos: Courtesy of Mark Von Holden/WireImage (Hudson and LaBelle), MB Productions (stage, Hilary Duff), BizBash (Heatherette, after-party)
Now in their 18th year, the Glaad Media Awards (which recognize mainstream media for “fair, accurate, and inclusive representation of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender community and the issues that affect their lives”) have come a long way from when the organization held one event in New York for an audience of 200 people and a single sponsor, Absolut Vodka. The March 26 New York festivities alone welcomed 1,600 guests, high-wattage stars, and a roster of big-name sponsors including IBM, Time Warner, American Airlines, Bud Light, Hilton Hotels, Motorola, and Starbucks Coffee Company. (Glaad now holds ceremonies in Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Miami as well.) The show will also air on Logo for the third year, on April 21.
The event’s ever-rising profile, along with the television broadcast, has resulted in an increasingly sophisticated visual display on stage. “Technically, we have to be TV-ready, with audio, lighting, and more cameras,” says Marc McCarthy, the organization’s senior director of communications. “We’re turning a theatrical production into a television production.”
Brian Brooks, president of MB Productions, the video staging partner of the awards for the past eight years, remembers when a single plasma screen graced the stage. The addition of a 9- by 12-foot rear-projection screen, portrait plasma screens, side screens, and the mixing of live video and animation enables a “much more sophisticated look of the show,” Brooks says.
The use of several screens to display multiple images and media (live shots, pre-taped items, logos, and animations), in addition to well-placed lighting effects, gave the nonprofit’s marquee event—and primary fund-raiser—a ready-for-prime-time look. “You can do a lot with video and lighting,” Brooks says. “It’s actually simple, but it’s warm and inviting.”
—Mimi O’Connor
Posted 04.04.07
Photos: Courtesy of Mark Von Holden/WireImage (Hudson and LaBelle), MB Productions (stage, Hilary Duff), BizBash (Heatherette, after-party)
Jennifer Hudson, left, presented the Excellence in Media Award to Patti LaBelle.
The Glaad Media Awards at the Marriott Marquis hosted 1,600 guests and raised $1.5 million. For the fourth year in a row, the event was sold out. Over an 18-year history, the budget for the production has remained almost the same, due to donations and reduced rates from vendors and suppliers.
Before a dinner and the award ceremony, Glaad hosted a silent auction and cocktail reception. Items up for bid included a Museum of Modern Art membership package, a closet makeover from the Container Store, and this original artwork from Heatherette entitled "Heatherette Pinball."
Hilary Duff was among the celebs on hand. With more than 100 sponsors to thank (and give exposure to), Glaad scrolled the companies' names on prominently placed screens throughout the evening.
DJ Junior Vasquez spun at the after-party, which had a simple look that referenced both the onstage lighting effects and Glaad’s logo.
